Quote Originally Posted by north woods gal View Post
My biggest problem with the nasties, other than a few ticks back in the woods, has been the deer and black flies and, ouch, they really can bite. I do have to spray for them when I ride, sometimes. Odd thing, though, they swarm around my helmet as I ride, but only seem to land and bite on the back of my legs and, of all places, my riding gloves. Now, why would they be attracted to my riding gloves and try to bite though that fabric? (And, yes, they can bite though them.) As for mosquitoes, yeah, they are getting nastier by the week, since it has been a wet summer for us. Usually not an issue until I stop, though. If I break down, back in the woods and have to walk out, then not so good. Up here, we never step outdoors the summer without the bug spray.

Emily, the farther west you go in the Dakotas and Nebraska, the drier the climate gets, so hopefully things will improve for you. The eastern parts of those states can still be quite muggy, though. By the time you hit the western borders, almost desert dry. For sure, you will be out in the great wide open. Have fun.
Thank you! I am really looking forward to heading west now. We have another 8 nights in Minnesota, then we head into North Dakota. After three nights crossing the state, we'll be in the western portion, at Teddy Roosevelt NP. When we visited there (too briefly, which is why we're returning) in 2014, we had no bug problems whatsoever. Then we'll head into northeast Wyoming and western South Dakota for awhile. Eventually we do have to make our way back east since we have appointments in NC in early November, but by then, the mozzies will hopefully be much less than this time of year!

Totally am with you on the blackflies. We experienced those mostly in Missouri and both got a few bites, but nothing like the swarms of mosquitoes here. Truly never experienced anything like it. We had to take Paisley out for a jog tonight instead of a walk, and they still got us!